ACCIONA Energía Mexico has signed two contracts to provide Clean Energy Certificates (CELs) to CFE Calificados, a subsidiary of the country’s Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), for the supply of electricity to large users.

One contract, representing 5,000 CELs per year over 20 years, will come from Acciona Energia’s 168-MW El Cortijo wind farm in Tamaulipas, which will start operating in 2018.

The first contract, for 49,500 CELs per year over 20 years, is linked to production from the Puerto Libertad photovoltaic solar plant in Sonora. ACCIONA has developed this plant together with its Mexican partner BioFields.

The second, for 5,000 CELs per year over 20 years, will generate the certificates for production from the El Cortijo wind farm in Tamaulipas, owned by ACCIONA Energía. One CEL is equivalent to the production of 1 MWh of renewable energy.

With this type of contract, ACCIONA Energía and BioFields strengthen their leading position in the Mexican renewable energies market and confirm their commitment to the fight against climate change.

CFE Calificados called an auction in February, in which 21 renewables companies took part to acquire up to one million CELs, which are granted to renewables operators registered in the national Certificate Management and Compliance with Clean Energy Obligations System.

Since the energy sector reform in Mexico was approved, all suppliers of electric power are obliged to provide a certain percentage of clean energy. The Secretary of State for Energy has set the target of 5% of total energy consumption to be fulfilled in 2018, the year in which the CELs will be applied. The contribution of renewable energies will be reviewed every five years. Mexico aims to increase generation from renewables to 35% of total energy generated by 2024.

The 339-MWp (270-MW nominal capacity) Puerto Libertad PV plant will be the biggest in Latin America when it enters service in 2019. ACCIONA Energía and Tuto Energy, a subsidiary of the BioFields group, are the partners in the project.

The 168-MW El Cortijo wind farm is the fifth facility owned by ACCIONA Energía in Mexico; it will start operating in 2018. It is the first renewables project on which work has begun of those awarded in the electricity auctions held in Mexico within the framework of the country’s Energy Reform. ACCIONA was awarded a total of 585.5 GWh of electric power under these tenders, and the corresponding clean energy certificates, that will be supplied from this wind farm.